Nissan LEAF vs Nissan LEAF (2011-2017)

The Nissan LEAF costs £10,009 more than the Nissan LEAF. For that premium it adds 257 miles more WLTP range, 100 kW faster peak rapid charging and 67 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Nissan LEAF comes out ahead overall.

The Nissan LEAF is £10,009 cheaper to buy. The Nissan LEAF is cheaper to charge, roughly £136 a year versus £168 for the Nissan LEAF, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Nissan LEAF comes out roughly £9,849 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 313 miles for the Nissan LEAF and 76 miles for the Nissan LEAF - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Nissan LEAF goes roughly 237 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 30-30 minutes.

The Nissan LEAF is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 40 mm narrower than the Nissan LEAF. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 630 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF and about 590 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF. The Nissan LEAF also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Nissan LEAF and 65% for the Nissan LEAF. That gives the Nissan LEAF a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.